In a fast moving world, there are two key drivers that have skewed the business landscape over the last few years; competition overload and information overload. Both create commercial clutter, which means itand#8217;s very hard to get noticed in business today. The surplus society tells you there are too many similar companies with too many similar people, with similar experience and similar qualifications, selling similar products and services to similar clients and customers for similar prices.
How do you cut through? If youand#8217;re in sales, your fight is on two fronts and#8211; expertise and trust. Added together, they make your credibility. When you have credibility, it shouldnand#8217;t be too hard to win the business you need to. And you make yourself credible by building relationships; by getting seen, known and trusted by the people that count and#8211; your contacts, customers or clients.
The problem is that weand#8217;re all too busy. My and#8216;One Step Removed Ruleand#8217; applies to business interactions today. Sales professionals now do coffee when they should do lunch, phone when they should meet, email when they should phone and text when they should email. Yet in my years as a professional networker, Iand#8217;ve failed to find anyone who could build a better relationship by phone and email than I could face to face.
Phone and email have done more to enhance sales than any other tools. Yet the fact remains that nothing is as powerful in closing as a face to face meeting. So letand#8217;s go through a few practical scripts and tips that can secure you that all important and#8216;one to oneand#8217;.
To start with, you must understand that a meeting is the and#8216;ultimate in business contactand#8217;. Itand#8217;s anywhere from five to 105 minutes of quality, personal, focused and hopefully uninterrupted time with a potential new customer/client. Thatand#8217;s gold dust, and depending on your sales process, it must be the aim of your key interactions.
How do we get our prospects to agree to this? We need a few different approaches dependent on how and when weand#8217;re asking for the meeting. For instance, when youand#8217;re out networking, you should rarely ask for a meeting straight away. To do so often puts you in and#8216;selling modeand#8217;, and networking is not selling. If you connect with somebody, and feel they might have problems you can solve, you first of all ask permission to call. Hereand#8217;s a few phrases I use;
Depending on how you currently ___________, we may be able to help you. Would it be okay if I gave you a call next week to learn a little more about your situation?
You mentioned earlier that ___________. Iand#8217;ve just solved a similar problem recently for one of my customers. How would you feel if I called you next week to see if I could do the same for you?
You say that ____________. Iand#8217;ve got a couple of ideas on how I may be able to help you with that. How about I give you a call next week so I can find out a little more about your company?
The traditional and#8216;introductory cold letterand#8217; or referral puts you in a similar position of using the follow up call to secure the meeting.
To Meet Or Not To Meet?
Depending on what you sell and the way you sell it, and#8216;to meet or not to meetand#8217; is ultimately your riddle to solve. Itand#8217;s certainly easier to sell face to face than the phone because your prospects are further down the road of commitment and closer to closing. The face to face interaction also allows you to use all means of communication at your disposal, which can make you more influential and persuasive.
That said, there is an argument to take the call as far as you possible can, so all thatand#8217;s left to do when you actually see them is signing the deal. We can make more money, but not more time, so if you can prove value and gain commitment there and then, there is no reason to meet. Some deals can actually be done on the phone. If they are in the right place at the right time, with the tight need and the right budget, why not? No sense in going for a meeting needlessly!
So when you make that follow up call, your primary objective might be the actual sale, although it is usually a meeting. At the very least, your call should give enough information and benefits to arouse them and inspire them to know more. Any overselling or overburdening with costs, features and closes could induce resistance and allow them to make a and#8216;noand#8217; decision while theyand#8217;re on the call. Hereand#8217;s a few strategies for creating the impetus to make a meeting both welcomed and logical;
Herding
By mentioning other customers/clients (either specifically or generally) that youand#8217;ve helped or worked with, you use the power of social proof through third party endorsements. If their competitors have used you, theyand#8217;ll be mindful of being outside the herd.
John, weand#8217;ve had success with a couple of companies just like yours that has allowed them to __________.
Julie, weand#8217;ve done some very interesting things with XYZ company that has resulted in __________.
Due Diligence
Itand#8217;s good to be armed and dangerous. By learning something about them before the call (either from your networking or your research), you can use phrases like;
Amanda, we know youand#8217;re looking for more clients…
I spoke to someone that uses your products and he said how you pride yourself on your technology…
You mentioned that youand#8217;re expanding at the moment…
It says on your website that you pride yourself on customer loyalty…
This shows you were listening and/or that youand#8217;re serious about doing business. Youand#8217;ve taken some time and effort to get to know them, and that can only be a good thing.
Generate Interest
Someone has to see a reason to talk to you before they meet with you. And if they do agree to meet, it will only come on the back of concrete benefits, hooks or incentives. Think what it would take to meet if you were them. One way to engage is to ask meaningful questions;
The reason for my call is Iand#8217;ve worked with a number of others in your industry, helping them to achieve __________ and depending on what you currently do with your __________, I might be able to help you in a similar way.
I wondered if I could ask you a couple of questions about the way you _________, as weand#8217;ve provided some pretty innovative solutions for a number of other organisations like yours and helped them avoid __________.
Oversell At Your Peril!
Telling them you can heal the world, save them millions or solve all their earthly problems might raise credibility issues! Art Sobczak, one of the worldand#8217;s greatest experts in winning business by phone, advocates the use of and#8216;weasel wordsand#8217;. These under promise so you can over deliver. A few examples;
Iand#8217;ve got a couple of ideas on how we could get you more clients…
Depending on what youand#8217;re doing with _________, there may be a chance we could ________.
If you _____________, then I might be able to help you __________.
Ask
If you donand#8217;t ask you donand#8217;t get! Having generated interest, they hopefully want to know more and perhaps see you to take things to the next level. Itand#8217;s rare theyand#8217;ll actually ask you to come in, so youand#8217;ve got to ask the courageous question. This is often easier if youand#8217;ve scripted out a few great things to say in such a situation. Here are a few;
Jim, Iand#8217;m thinking it might be nice to chat this over together. Have you got your diary there?
Iand#8217;m just wondering if itand#8217;s best we meet. What do you think?
Iand#8217;d be happy coming over to see you if you think there might be something I could help you on with _________.
Iand#8217;m coming to _______ on Thurs. Would it be okay if I popped in to show you what we did to help a company that had exactly your problem?
We could talk through a few ideas, but how would you feel about getting together for 20 mins and seeing __________ in action/for real/close up?
Ending 1
If you can see the whites of their eyes, you can be more persuasive and take the relationship deeper in a shorter space of time. You can build trust and rapport if you can get them one to one, and give yourself the best possible chance to solve their problems. And that means more sales!
Ending 2
Never underestimate the power of a meeting. It builds trust, rapport and commitment better than anything else. People buy people more than they buy phone calls and emails. So get out there, meet people face to face and give them every opportunity to like you and buy your solutions to their problems.

Technorati tags: similar face meet call phone

Whether you are looking for that dream job or are just trying to get a pay raise or promotion, there are 10 things you can do to improve your chances. In general these 10 things fall into 2 categories; the first is building your portfolio and the second is in building your network.
While technology is causing rapid change in most industries and for many jobs, it is changing even faster for Information Technology (IT) workers. You may not want to hear this, but as a result of this rapid change, you may need to put in more work and effort than you can squeeze into a 40 hour work week. Are you already putting in long hours? If not, would you be willing to if it could help you find that dream job, get promotions, and pay raises? If you aren’t willing to put in that extra effort and time, you might need to rethink your career path as you won’t be able to keep up with the changing technology.
1. Get involved.
This is a big one. Find out what professional IT organizations are in the area and attend some meetings. If you find some of them particularly valuable, step forward and offer to help.
Did you know that most of the best jobs aren’t advertised in the paper or on a job board? If you spend all your time responding to help wanted ads in the paper and on job boards and sitting by the phone waiting for that call; then you will miss out on the truly great jobs.
You must get out and network with others. Attending professional meetings is one of the ways to develop a network. Now that you are attending meetings, why not volunteer to help with some aspect of the organization? This keeps you from being just a face in the crowd and gives you even more opportunities to interact with others in the group.
However, if you volunteer for something, be sure to follow through or you will leave people with a negative impression. Others will assume that you would fail to follow through this same way in a work environment.
2. Be selfless.
Being selfless ties in with the first item above. If you join a professional group; don’t join solely for the purpose of getting a job or it will be obvious to the others. Join because you enjoy doing what the group does and get involved for this reason. There is no need to torture yourself attending meetings that are painful to you. If you find that attending these professional meetings are painful, then maybe you need to evaluate whether this is the right career for you.
3. Get certified
Getting appropriate certifications in your desired field is especially important if you have no experience. It shows that you have put in some extra effort and at a minimum have the aptitude to do the job.
If you are fortunate, the company you are working for will cover some or all of the costs associated with certifications. In the case that they don’t, what should you do? Do you sit around and complain and wish that they would; or do you do something about it in your own time? Ultimately, it is you that is responsible for your own professional development. Take control. You don’t have to go to that $3000 class. Get a book or some self study material and study on your own. Does your local professional group offer any kind of training or study groups? If not, can you get one started?
4. Get experience
Many employers are only looking for employees experienced in the area they will be working. They are afraid to hire someone, spend time training them, and then have them decide that they are not cut out for the job or that they will gain the experience and move on to a higher paying job. How do you get experience when you are right out of school or trying to move from another occupation into IT?
Sounds like catch 22, doesn’t it? Actually, the answer is quite simple (though not easy). Volunteer to do something related to the position you are looking for. If you want to write VB.NET or C# software, then write some programs. One suggestion is to approach a non-profit group and find out what type of program you might write for them to automate their processes and become more efficient. You could also write a program that you can either sell or give away. Then put up a web site and try to sell or give this product away. Now add this link to your resume along with a description.
Yes, this requires a good deal of work on your part, but think of how much you have learned, as well as what you are showing prospective employers. You will stand out from all of those other students or developer wannabes because you put forth that extra effort and learned something about software development in the process. This also shows that you love doing this type of thing. A wise employer is looking for people who love what they are doing and go above and beyond what they can learn in a 40 hour work week.
5. Write articles or books
If you are a beginner, this is probably not where you would start. However, if you have some experience and are looking to move to the next level, here is an outstanding way to do it. Think about the people you consider experts. Haven’t most of them written articles or books. Writing a book is hard work that can take up a lot of your time, but it is a sure way to gain credibility and be seen as an expert. If you don’t have the time for a book, you can write articles and post them to the big IT article sites. You can find a list of some of these sites here.
6. Read
Technology is changing so rapidly, that you must figure some time into every day for reading. One attribute of the ideal candidate is a voracious appetite for knowledge; and they will spend the time reading technical articles and books as well as business oriented ones. It is great to have the technical knowledge, but if you can’t figure out how to meet business needs with the technology, you won’t be as successful.
7. Help on forums
This is closely related to #2 above on being selfless. By answering questions for others in forums, you are honing your skills and developing a reputation as being someone who knows what they are talking about. You never know when that person you help may be hiring.
8. Don’t hog the knowledge.
I am sure most of you have worked with someone that was so insecure about their job that they tried to keep what they do and know a secret. To make themselves invaluable, they write a program or set up a process, but don’t let anyone know how they do it. These individuals are no fun to work with and hurt the team as a whole. They also can’t take vacations without causing great pain for the employer. If you share the knowledge, your coworkers will appreciate you for it. Your boss probably notices which type of person you are, and if they have any sense, they will promote the person that plays well with others over the lone cowboy. Besides, if you share your knowledge you will be able to enjoy your vacations.
9. Be willing to listen and learn from others.
Technology is moving too fast for you to be the expert on everything. This doesn’t mean that you have to accept everything someone says as truth. However, if someone tells you something you don’t believe, don’t call their bluff right then and there. Instead keep an open mind, go and research the topic, run a few tests if appropriate; and then based on the data decide what is correct. In other words don’t stand around and argue over each other’s viewpoints for 30 minutes when a 5 minute test will tell you the truth.
Now, after having done the tests to prove which theory was right, publish your results. This way you know what the answer is and you can accomplish several of the above items at the same time.
10. Let your network know
While you don’t want to sound like you are begging, let people in your network know that you are looking for a new position and what type of position you are looking for. If you have been selfless and helped them in the past, they are more likely to return the favor. If you are currently employed, be sure that your network knows to be discreet. If you enjoy working for your current employer, be sure that you communicate your professional desires to them so that they have the chance to accommodate you before you go looking outside.
The bottom line is that if you have not done any of items 1 through 9, you won’t have much of a professional network that you can tap into.
If you surround yourself with other successful people and follow the advice in the 10 points above, you will open all sorts of doors and will be extremely successful in what you do. Note that this process takes time and consistency. The keys to all of the above are to build relationships, trust, knowledge, and skills. This doesn’t happen overnight.

Technorati tags: dont time looking professional work

Love is in the air. You know a little about your date and your date knows a little about you. The description of your blind date seems to be too good to be true - a perfect vision of your ideal partner. They have the right physical attributes and personal qualities. Your matchmaking friends are even more excited than you because they’re convinced you are perfect for one another. The date has been set. You can hardly wait!
The night arrives and you see your blind date walk through the door of the restaurant. So far so good. The introductions go very well. They are very attractive and have a great personality. They seem to like you too. You can sense each other’s nerves, and are very careful about saying the wrong thing and turning each other off. After about fifteen minutes of slightly awkward conversation mostly dominated by your friends, your date, who by the way is a nurse, says, “So, I hear you’re a successful pharmaceutical sales representative with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country. That sounds so exciting. How did you get into pharmaceutical sales? You begin by talking about how you’ve always been interested in medicine, enjoy selling, and never saw yourself at a desk job. You explain how you joined the company when they launched one of the best selling nebulizers on the market. As you humbly mention that you grew your sales territory to rank as one of the highest in the country, the waitress interrupts to take your plates and asks if you’d like desert. Wow, the conversation just flowed. You even forgot you were on a date! Your date was so interested in what you had to say, and they responded so well to the great questions you asked them about their work and family. Your date can sense you are truly interested in them. In the first half hour, you both realized you have so much in common. Deep down inside you are praying they like you as much as you like them, and hope they aren’t seeing anyone else. By the end of the night, it seems your date feels the same way. You both agree to a second date - this time alone!
Okay, let’s rewind the tape. You’re not in pharmaceutical sales yet. But, that is what you want to be. You’ve just graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry with a concentration in Psychology. You’ve had your resume professionally developed and it’s time to send it out. You scour all the job boards and classified ads, and talk to everyone in your personal network. Things are looking up. In less than two weeks, you have lined up four promising interviews.
So, if everything is going so well, why are you so nervous? Is it because you’re afraid you are going to fail at making a great first impression? Take a deep breath. There is a way to overcome this fear — and you hold the key. Remember that blind date? What was the hardest part? That’s right - it was the anticipation! Once you got there, everything went smoothly - especially when they asked you about your {future} job. Why did it go so well? Because it was about YOU! Know one knows you better than yourself, and that’s who they want to get to know better — YOU. THEY WANT TO MEET YOU. THEY ALREADY LIKE YOU!
And therein lies the secret. The very fact that they have invited you for an interview means they have PRE-QUALIFIED YOU FOR THE JOB! Can you believe that? It’s true! They are hoping that you are as good in person and you are on paper. If you are, like your blind date, they’re going to pray that you’ll stop interviewing with other companies and accept their offer to join their company.
So how do you gain the confidence you need to overcome your interview jitters? First, believe in yourself. Know how talented and knowledgeable you are. Remember, your resume says you are - and that’s why they want to meet YOU. Next, do your homework. Learn about the company. Ask genuine questions to show how interested you are in what their company does, why the position is available, what the position is about, and what the potential is to grow with the company. Volunteer to tell them what you know about their company, using it as a lead-in for a question you might have or save it as a response to a question they may have. Do not fail to ask questions! Do not wait until the end and say, “No, I think you answered all my questions (that were silently in my head!). BE PROACTIVE in the interview. As long as you know who you are and know something about them, you should have no problem hitting it off. If for some crazy reason they decide to offer the position to someone else, don’t be discouraged. There are other fish in the sea. Think of it as a great experience and opportunity to practice your interviewing skills.
In summary, the interview is a meeting between two interested people. They already know about themselves. So, it’s about YOU. They want to meet YOU. They want to get to know YOU. Just be yourself, be interesting, polite, and show your interest in them. If it is meant to be (hey, remember, you might not like them. Did you ever think about that?), you will be invited to a second interview or will be offered the position after the first meeting. Good luck!

Technorati tags: date know you. like interested

Working from home provides the ultimate experience of freedom in many ways, but at the same time it can easily allow a freedom we take for granted - a freedom that if not appreciated, can actually sabotage our success.
In the corporate world we have structures, deadlines, rules and bosses to keep things in order and on track. These are often the elements entrepreneurs want to escape from when they start a home-based business.
Although these fundamentals have their place in the corporate world and can be viewed by entrepreneurial spirits as restrictive, provoking and unnecessary - they play a significant role in assuring a successful home business environment as well.
As a government employee for 12 years, I often felt smothered and restricted by the regimental practices that guided daily work life. When I left my position to run my home-based business it felt as though 200 pounds had been lifted from my shoulders.
I was finally free to do what I loved, how I chose, when I chose.
Structure and good time management have always been a part of my personal repertoire, but were put to the ultimate test when I started working from home full-time.
When I was an employee, I spent my evenings and weekends pursuing accreditation in Life Strategy and Business Coaching, and building my business. There was no room for distraction or activities that would take me away from my dream.
Structure was rigid and discipline was strong.
Once my formal education was complete and I was financially secure enough to leave my government position, it seemed only natural that maintaining the same level of structure and discipline would continue.
This was not the case.
It didn’t take long for more relaxed, carefree thinking to dominate my actions and behaviors. I would schedule personal appointments in the middle of the day that would interrupt my work for extended periods of time
I’d accept invitations to impromptu lunch and shopping dates. I assured myself I’d make up the time by working in the evening, but by then my energy levels were often in low supply and I was ineffective.
I would leave my office door open and allow household distractions into my workspace. When my personal phone line would ring, I’d pick it up only to be sidetracked by a telemarketer. I also chose to present my family with home-cooked dinners every night, which took hours away from my business.
In only a matter of weeks, I could see the impact lack of formal structure was having on my business. I was lured by life’s daily distractions and it was becoming apparent in my productivity levels and my business’ bottom line.
I had allowed my focus to blur, my energy to wane, and business to take a back seat. I didn’t feel productive. I would scramble to meet deadlines for article submissions and was fully aware of the long-term result I would create if I continued this way.
It was amazing to discover how easy it was for me, someone who has always been so structured and organized, to fall into complacency so quickly once the responsibility fell entirely on my shoulders.
In order to stop the defeating behavior and break the carefree cycle, I re-instituted rules and processes immediately. I returned to “flow” and became productive again.
I survived the “bump” and thankfully with little setback.
I’m all too aware how easy it is to let daily life blend with home business life and that’s actually a part of the attraction of becoming a home-based business owner.
The important thing to remember is there is an immense need for structure, routine and processes; otherwise you may easily become caught up in the demands of daily living without realizing it until it’s too late.
Here are 5 simple steps to get started:
1. Keep your workspace door closed at all times, or even better, completely separate from the family living space.
2. Designate specific hours of operation and make sure your friends and family understand that you are not to be disturbed during these times.
3. Silence the ringer of your private phone line in your office or workspace, or better yet, don’t have a personal line in this area at all. Let your machine collect your calls and return them at a time that suits you.
4. If you need to make personal appointments, schedule them for the same day instead of intermittently throughout the week. This will allow for several days of uninterrupted business operation.
5. Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Maybe you don’t have to get up at 6 a.m. any more for your one-hour commute, but it’s still important to go to bed at a reasonable time to ensure sufficient sleep. Irregular sleep patterns will have a negative effect on your productivity, creativity and enthusiasm.
Remember that running a home-based business is no different than running any other type of business. Structure is necessary. Discipline is compulsory - and processes are required.
Keep these important elements in mind. Incorporate them into your daily business activities and your home and business life will reap the rewards.
2006 andcopy; Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

Technorati tags: business time structure home business.

The first reaction of economies in transition is a sharp decline in their production, mainly in industrial production. In the countries which attained independence with the demise of the British Empire (where the sun never set) - industrial production fell by 20% on average. Even this was because these countries continued to maintain economic ties with the “mother” (the United Kingdom). They also continued to trade among themselves, with the rest of the British Empire, through the Commonwealth mechanism.
This was not the case when the second biggest empire of modern times collapsed, the Soviet empire. When the USSR and the Eastern Bloc disintegrated - the COMECON trading bloc was dismantled, never to be replaced by another. All the constituents of the former Eastern Bloc preferred to trade with the west rather than with one another. The Empire left in its wake mountains of trade debts, total lack of liquidity and money losing barter operations carried out in unrealistic prices.
Thus, industrial production plunged in the newly established countries (CIS and the countries which were part of Former Yugoslavia) as well as in other former members of the Eastern Bloc by 40-60% over a period of 5 years. A slow recovery is discernible only in the last two years and industrial production is picking up at an annual rate of 2% (Estonia) to 8% (the Czech Republic) - depending on the country.
This disastrous drop in the most important parameter of economic health was largely attributable to a few, cumulative factors:

The sudden evaporation of all the traditional export markets - simultaneously. Macedonia has lost 80% of its export markets with the bloody and siege-laden disintegration of the Former (federation of) Yugoslavia. Similar vicissitudes were experienced by other countries in transition.
A huge, unsustainable internal debt between the companies themselves (each acting in the dual role of supplier and of client) - and between the enterprises and the state. This burden was only very mildly ameliorated by bartering. Mostly, it led to severe cases of insolvency or lack of liquidity and to a reversion to pre-monetary economic systems.
This lack of liquidity also prevented the investment in capital assets (plant modernization, personnel training, data processing and decision making tools) necessary to sustain efficiency gains, increase productivity and maintain competitiveness.
Gross inefficiency of the industrial plants which was due to massive hidden unemployment, low maintenance standards and the aforementioned lack of capital.
Outmoded and outdated management techniques. The old guard of managers in industry were ill adapted to the rapid changes wrought about them by capitalism and wise industries. They continued “to fight the last (and lost) wars”, to bemoan their fate and not to provide a sense of direction, a vision of the future and the management decisions which are derivatives of the above.
Faulty legislation, dysfunctioning law enforcement systems, crony capitalism and privateering (the sale of state assets to political allies or to family members of influential political and economic figures) - all led to fuzzy ownership structures and to a virtual abandonment of the protection of property rights. In the absence of clear ownership and under the threat everand#151;imminent loss of property, the profit motivation has degenerated into speculative binges and bouts and decision making was transformed into power contests.
These industries produced and manufactured goods in accordance with some central planning, an theoretical model of the marketplace, or rule-of-thumb thinking. The result was mountains of shoddy merchandise, of low quality and very little demand. Antiquated design and lack of responsiveness to market needs and consumersand#146; wishes only exacerbated the situation.
This absence of market research, market analysis and, more generally, market awareness led to the almost complete absence of marketing, sales promotion, or advertising (in the modern sense). Paradoxically, the communist era industries demonstrate a deeper belief in “the invisible hand of the market” than do their capitalist brethren. They entrust the function of the dissemination of information and its influence upon the decisions made by consumers - entirely to the market. If the product is either needed or good enough, it will sell itself, was the thinking. Marketing and advertising were thought of as illegitimate cajoling, pushing consumers to make decisions that they would not have made otherwise.
Industry operated under all these crushing constraints in an environment of heavy to impossible regulation, trade protectionism (which denied them the benefits of competition), corrupt bureaucracy, rolls of red tape, heavy political involvement and a total distortion of economic considerations by “social” ones. This was further compounded by a decaying banking system (where the distinction between lender and borrower was rendered superfluous by the concept of “social capital” which belongs to everyone equally). It could not supply the industrial sector with capital replenishment and the total absence of capital markets did not help.
Last - but far from being least - was the non existence of a “Protestant” or “Asian values” work ethic. Low salaries, feigned “equality” and absent profit motivation - all led to a disincentived work environment. The norm in many of these countries is still: “come to work, open and close the door and get paid”, as the saying goes. This is the benign case. Stealing from the workplace has become an acceptable way of complementing income and moonlighting was done at the expense of the official “primary” workplace.

But it seems that the worst is over and that the scene is fast changing.
However sloppy or criminal the process of privatization, still hundreds of thousands of new capitalists were brewed and introduced, willy nilly, to the profit motive. The spectre of capital gains, made most of them (except the most hardened) discover marketing, advertising, design, export, trade financing, public offerings, strategic partnerships, concessions and business plans.
Industries are much more focussed and market oriented. The new religion of capitalism, replete with entrepreneurship, free choice, personal profit and the invisible hand of the market has been successfully phased in.
Both the domestic markets and international trade are recovering nicely. Consumption is growing and with it exports. The political level is withdrawing from the scene through more or less successful privatization or transformation schemes and appropriate legislation to minimize the role of the state in the economy.
Some countries have opted to “skip” some of the industrial portion of the classic, evolutionary economic cycle - and go directly to investing in information and knowledge industries. They educate their workforce and retrain it accordingly. They invite multinationals - using a cocktail of tax incentives and direct grants and subsidies - to open back office operations (accounting, administration) and telemarketing operations in their countries. This calls for lower investment than in classic (or sunset) industries and has a high value added to the economy.
But the single largest driving force behind economic recovery is foreign capital. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is pouring in and with it: new markets, technology transfers through joint ventures, new, attractive product mixes, new management, new ideas and new ownership - clear and decisive.
So, industrial production is picking up and will continue to grow briskly in all countries in transition that have the peaceful conditions necessary for long term development. If Macedonia will follow the examples of the Baltic countries, of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, even Russia, Ireland, Egypt, Chile, Indonesia, Israel and the Philippines - it will double its industrial production within 10 years and redouble it again in 15 years.
Israel, Ireland and and#133; France and Japan (!) are examples of poor, agricultural countries, which made the transition to thriving industrial countries successfully.
But was their secret? How come Hong Kong and Singapore are richer than Britain by some measures? Together with South Korea and Taiwan they have been growing at an average rate of 7.5% annually for the last 30 years. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines have joined the “Asian Tigers” club.
They all share some common features:

Massive injections of labour (by massive immigration from rural areas to the cities, urbanization). Massive injections of capital and technology. The above injections were financed by an exceedingly high level of savings and investments (savings amount to 35% of GDP, on average).
Wise government direction provided through a clear industrial policy. This, though, is a double edged sword: a less wise policy would have backfired with the same strength.
A capitalist, profit seeking mentality.
An annual increase of 2-3% in productivity which is the result of copying technology and other forms of technology transfers from the rich West.
Strong work, family and society ethics within a cohesive, conformist and supportive social environment (the “Asian Values” are the Eastern equivalent of the “Protestant Work Ethic”).
Low taxation and small government budgets (less than 20% of GDP compared to twice as much in the West - and 3 times as much in France today).
Flexible and mobile labour and c (in certain countries) capital markets. When mobility or flexibility are restricted (Japan) it is the result of social treaty rather than of legislation, regulation, or other statist intervention.
A firm, long lasting commitment to education and to skill acquisition, even in hard circumstances. The number of educated people is low but growing rapidly, as a result.
Openness to trade, knowledge and to technology.
Imports are composed mostly of investment goods and capital assets. The culture of conspicuous, addictive (or even normal) consumption is less developed there.

Still, these countries started from a very low income base. It is common economic knowledge that low income countries always grow fast because they can increase their productivity simply by purchasing technology and management in the rich country. Purchasing technology is always much cheaper than developing it - while maintaining roughly the same economic benefits.
Thus, Hong Kong grew by 9% in the 60s. This growth coefficient was reduced to 7.5% in the 80s and to 5% in the 90s. But China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia are likely to grow annually by 7-9% during the next decade.
Not that these countries are exempt from problems. The process of maturation creates many of them. There is the dependence on export markets and volatile exchange rates (which determine the terms of trade). When the West reduced its consumption of microchips and the Dollar appreciated by 50% against the Japanese Yen - all the tigers suffered a decline in economic growth rates, current account deficits of 5-8% of their GDP, strikes (South Korea) and Stock Market crashes (Thailand, to name but one of many). In Singapore and in Hong Kong, the industrial production plummeted by 5% last year (1996).
Years of easy money and cheap credits directed by the state at selected industries starved small businesses, created overinvestment and overcapacity in certain, state-supported, industries and destabilized the banking and the financial systems. It helped forge infrastructure bottlenecks and led to a shortage in skilled or educated manpower. In Thailand only 38% of those 14 years old attend school and in China, the situation is not much better.
Finally, the financial markets proved to be too regulated, the government proved to be too bureaucratic, corruption proved to be too rampant (Indonesia, Japan, almost everybody else). There were too many old conglomerate-type mega - companies which prevented competition (e., the Chaebol in South Korea or the Zaibatsu in Japan).
So, the emerging economies are looking to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan to supply the ideal: truly flexible labour markets, no state involvement, lots of nimble, small businesses, deregulated markets, transigent industrial policies. These countries - and the rest of the Asian Tigers - are expected to beat the West at its own game: money. They have many more years of economic growth ahead:
Each Korean worker has only 40% of the capital goods, available to his Western comrade, at his disposal. Putting more technology at his fingertips will increase his productivity.
An industrial worker in the west has a minimum of 10 years of education. In Indonesia and Thailand he has 4 years and even in South Korea he has merely 9 years. On average, an industrial worker in one of the Asian Tigers countries carries 7 years of education in his satchel - hardly the stuff that generals are made of. Research demonstrated that the more educated the worker - the higher his productivity.
Finally, increasing wages and looming current account deficits - will force the tigers to move to higher value added (non labour intensive) industries (the services, information and knowledge industries).
Then, it will be the turn of countries like Macedonia to take their place in some labour intensive areas and to rise to tigerdom.

Technorati tags: countries industrial economic markets which

It’s time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I’m sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So grab a pew and prepare to listen to the sermon I’ve preached before: bad customer service is the bane of business. If the Almighty smote down every business that dispenses bad customer service the world would be a much friendlier, albeit much sparser place. Consider a world without malls and fast food joints… would it really be so bad?
What puzzles me most is if bad customer service is such a death knell for business, why do so many businesses allow it to go on? Don’t they read my column, for Pete’s sake? I think the problem is that most bad customer service is doled out (or at least condoned) by business owners and managers who have ceased caring what their customers think. When you stop caring what your customers think it’s time to close the doors. Go find a day job. You’ll make someone a wonderfully disgruntled employee.
My latest parable of lousy customer service was actually experienced by my better half while attempting to buy my daughter a pair of basketball shoes. I won’t mention the name of the sporting goods chain store in which the bad customer service took place, but I will tell you that its name is similar to the sound a frog with hiccups might make.
As my wife waited for someone to assit, the four or five teenagers who had been charged with manning the store stood in a clump at the cash register giggling and flirting with one another as if they were at the prom instead of at work.
When my wife pointed out this fact, one of the employees, a cheeky lass of 16 or so, put her hands on her hips and said, “How rude!” The males in the group didn’t react at all. They were too busy arguing over who could take a break so they could chase other cheeky lasses about the mall.
Needless to say my lovely bride, who has the ability to instill fear into the hearts of even the most worthless employees, left the gaggle of giggling teen idiots standing with their mouths open in disbelief. How dare a customer tell them to do that with a pair of basketball shoes?
As much as I bemoan bad customer service I celebrate good customer service. It should be applauded and the purveyor of said good customer service should be rewarded for actually delivering satisfaction to the customer above and beyond the call of duty.
So let me tell you the story of my new hero, Ken. I won’t tell you the name of the store in which Ken works, but let’s just say they started out selling radios in a shack somewhere long, long ago.
I first met Ken when I went into the store to buy a mixing board for my business that records audio products for the Web. In a nutshell, you plug microphones into the mixing board then connect it to the computer and you can record audio directly to digital format. Totally beside the point of this article, but I didn’t want you thinking that I was purchasing non-manly cooking utensils.
When I got the mixer installed it didn’t work. So I boxed it up and headed back to the store to return it. When I told Ken my problem he didn’t just grunt and give me my money back as so many bad customer service reps would do. Instead he asked, “Do you mind if I try it?”
“Knock yourself out,” was my reply, confident that if I couldn’t get it to work, neither could Ken. Ken took the mixer out of the box and went about hooking it up to one of the computers on display. He started pulling power cords and cables off the display racks and ripping them open and plugging them in. He tore open a new microphone and an adapter and kept going until he had the mixer hooked up and working. Yes, I said working. It turns out the mixer was fine. I just had the wrong power adapter.
Ken could have just given me my money back and been done with me. Instead he spent 15 minutes and opened a number of other packages that I was under no obligation to buy just to help me get the thing working.
I was so impressed that I not only kept the mixing board, I also bought another $50 worth of products. And the next time I need anything electronic guess where I will buy it? Even if it costs twice as much, I’ll buy it from Ken.
Now here’s the moral of the story: if you are a business owner who has a gaggle of teenagers in charge of customer service at your store you would be better off replacing them with wild monkeys.
At least monkeys can be trained.

Technorati tags: customer service store business just

How cool is this? You’re a business, non-profit or association manager. You decide to get serious about your public relations and shift the spotlight away from communications tactics. You implement an action blueprint that (1), helps you persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking. And then (2), helps move them to take actions that lead to your success as a department, division or subsidiary manager.
It comes into sharper focus when that public relations blueprint helps deliver target audience behaviors like new waves of prospects buzzing around, more qualified calls about strategic alliances, a jump up in repeat purchases, a boost in the number of engineering consultants specifying your products or services, and even increased membership applications and contributions.
What is that blueprint, anyway? Try this: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.
As I’ve said many times in the past about that fundamental premise of public relations, it shines the PR spotlight directly on those outside groups of people with a large say about how successful a manager is going to be - namely, it targets his or her most important external audiences.
But you need the PR folks assigned to your unit to buy into the program and shift their priorities from communications tactics to a workable, comprehensive plan like this one designed to deliver those key, outside audience behaviors.
Behaviors, by the way, that obviously help or hinder a manager in achieving his or her operating objectives.
The real work for you as the department, division or subsidiary manager starts by listing all your key external audiences in priority order so that you initially focus your resources on that number one audience.
Next step is answering the question, what do members of that audience think about your organization? Short of spending big money on professional survey counsel, you and your PR team can/should/must interact with those members by asking questions such as “What, if anything, do you think about us? Have you ever dealt with our people? Were you pleased with the experience? Have you heard other comments about our organization?”
At each step in this perception monitoring drill, you and your team must watch carefully for negatives like false assumptions, rumors, misconceptions and inaccurate statements. In other words, negativities that might turn into target audience behaviors that could really damage your operation.
The monitoring data you collect is the stuff of your public relations goal. For example, stifle the rumor, straighten out the misconception, turn around the false assumption, or make that inaccuracy accurate.
However, managers know that achieving any goal demands the right supporting strategy to show you how to reach it. Considering the workload, you’ll be glad to know that opinion/ perception matters allow just three strategy choices: create perception where there isn’t any, change existing perception, or reinforce it. But be alert to the need to select a strategy that directly complements your public relations goal.
The real burden of this PR problem solving sequence rests with the actual message you use to communicate your corrective facts to your target audience. This is where the public relations heavy lifting takes aim at altering individual perception among your target audience population.
First and foremost, your message must be clear, persuasive and carefully factual if it is to nudge perception/opinion in your direction and lead directly to those behaviors you desire. And it will do so only if your message is both believable and compelling. Which suggests that it be vetted prior to release by a variety of individuals to insure that it measures up to these standards.
You’re in luck because you will benefit from a long list of communications tactics to help carry your message to the eyes and ears of members of your target audience. The list includes tactics like speeches, special events, media interviews and newsletters as well as press releases, customer briefings, facility tours, emails and quite a few others. Only caution here is, research each tactic carefully to be certain it has a record of reaching people just like those who make up your target audience.
Fortunately, things can always be accelerated by adding more high- impact communications tactics, increasing their frequencies and fine-tuning your message.
Answering the opening question, using a public relations blueprint of this nature can be extremely “cool.” Especially when you, as a unit manager for a business, non-profit or association, take these steps to help persuade your key outside stakeholders to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that lead to your managerial success.
In my view, that IS the best PR has to offer managers.
end

Technorati tags: public relations target behaviors perception

As a former human resources professional it has always intrigued me as to why people were more ’successful’ than others. By ’successful’ we are referring to an innate ability of some people to set and achieve worthwhile challenges for themselves.
Here we are using the word “challenge” and not goals. A challenge may be a goal, but not every goal is a challenge. Challenges stretch us beyond where we are and generally require us to embrace learning something new.
Very often it is the learning process - or lack of understanding of the learning process - that causes usto shrink from challenges. When we are children we learn readily. Unfortunately somewhere in our development some of us start to acquire negative thoughts and feelings about learning new things. For some, our experiences in school have not fostered a love of learning and confidence in our ability to learn. Consequently we enter adulthood not valuing or understanding these important skills.
Do you find yourself shrinking back from challenging situations? Do you assess tasks as not possible, because you don’t know enough? Be honest, many of us do. Have you started a home business and feel completely overwhelmed by your lack of confidence? Do you say to yourself, “It can work for others, but not for me”. Or, “I am the exception that proves the rule!”
If this is you, then read on as we explain a process of adult learning. There are many models of adult learning and the theory of such has been the subject of many doctorates. These however, are not the subject of this article. Here we are using a simple model that most people can relate to which can make a difference to their lives.
There are four stages of development when you are learning something new. Once you understand these stages of learning, you may be encouraged to place yourself in challenging situations and extend your capacity and capabilities through the learning process. You may even learn to drop “I can’t” from your vocabulary and develop an “I can” perspective of yourself!
Go on, you can’t lose and you just might acquire the confidence to make an outstanding success at your home business or other challenging venture!
STAGE 1 - THE FOOLISH STAGE!
When you first start out you feel like an idiot! You feel as though you are stupid. If you are learning to play golf, you most certainly would not think of yourself as a ‘golfer’ the first time you pick up the golf club. But the fact of the matter is, you are a golfer….simply a very inexperienced one!
This is the stage where we feel like a fake, or a charlatan…because we have not mentally and emotionally bought into the concept that we are a golfer. We may have made a verbal commitment, and taken some action (picked up the club), but our hearts and minds are still a long way behind. That’s why we can’t call ourselves a golfer. If our hearts and minds were in full alignment with our words and actions, then we would say, “I am a golfer….and I have a bunch of stuff to learn before I get really good”. If we are a newbie in the home business arena, we may decide to keep quiet about our new business until the business proves itself! (Hmmm)
This is a dangerous stage because without a firm focus, we are likely to stop and give up. It is important to make a mental shift and imagine yourself having fully achieved what you set out to do. Imagine yourself playing golf, confidently hitting the ball straight down the fairway. In reality we may feel uncomfortable, and out of our depth; perhaps even anxious. This is simply the early stages of learning and won’t be the final place if you keep going with the task you have undertaken. The more uncomfortable you feel about your new venture, the harder you should work on your imagination of success.
Some people try to avoid this stage altogether and procrastinate from getting fully committed because they want to be feeling “comfortable”. What they actually mean is they can’t get started until they have learnt everything there is to know! They want to spend months researching before they pick up a club and approach the golf tee. This is a great mistake!
You can’t learn how to play golf from a textbook or from a training video alone. You have to learn in practice. Likewise your home business will not grow if you don’t communicate with people. You may feel totally foolish, but you cannot go forward unless you try and learn by doing. Learning by doing is one of the fastest ways to learn a new skill. How good a game of golf would you play, if you just read about how to swing the club? How quickly will your business grow if you only read the training manuals?
You have to get started, despite how foolish you feel….AND you have to keep going despite how UNCOMFORTABLE you feel. Determine not to stop because if you do, you will stop at the start and never get to the finish line!
STAGE 2 - UNCOMFORTABLE
In the next phase you may not feel quite so anxious and foolish, but you most certainly are still uncomfortable! Keep going no matter how uncomfortable you feel. The only way to get past this stage is more and more practice. Your heart will catch up if you keep doing the deal over and over. You may start to see some results from your efforts, but keep your focus on the future for the best is yet to come. If you keep going giving yourself more and more practice, picking yourself up despite the mistakes, eventually you will find some aspects of the game of golf (or your home business) will start to feel more comfortable. Oh what a feeling! Make sure you celebrate the wins no matter how small and reinforce how well you are doing.
STAGE 3 - COMFORTABLE
In this next stage of learning, you will start to lose some of your nervousness in talking to people about the business, you may even start to see some results. Possibly some questions which earlier on distressed you, are no longer a challenge. You start to see that you can answer objections people put in front of you, with ease and style. This is the comfortable stage. Your heart has finally caught up with your head. You can tell people confidently you are a golfer, or have your own business. Once your reach this stage your self belief will have grown exponentially. Don’t take your learning for granted - celebrate your success again and again.
STAGE 4 - PROFICIENT - REFLEX ACTION - AUTOMATIC!
This is where you really wanted to be when you start. You are great at what you do!!! The only way to get here is practice, practice, and practice. You can’t get here in one step. You must pass through the other three stages. Once you are here, don’t be surprised if unforeseen things happen and you may slip back into feeling comfortable, or even uncomfortable. For example, you may have to play golf on a different or harder course. Do not fear, simply practice over and over and you will again be proficient and feeling completely in control of what you are doing.
These four stages of learning can be applied to just about any situation which requires learning a new skill. Learning is a journey and when we understand the stages of learning we can use the experiences as a powerful vehicle to propel us to achieving a worthwhile challenge, rather than a daunting experience that gets the better of us! Celebrate your successes not matter how small and, never give up!
(c) Copyright Kim Beardsmore
- You are free to publish this article in its entirety, without changes as long as the Copyright and Author’s Bio, remain in place and the URLs and links remain intact and working.

Technorati tags: learning stage yourself feel start

When deciding to invest, be it in the stock market or in other types of investment, it might seem a bit intimidating at first. How do you know that you’re getting the most out of your money? How do you know what to invest in? Should you invest all that you have into one or two solid investments, or should you spread it out over several investments?
If you’ve worried about any of these questions, read on; you may find the answers that you’re looking for, or you might even get ideas that you hadn’t thought of yet.
Making Smart Investments
In order to get the most out of your investments, it’s important to take a little bit of time to research your potential investments and make investments based upon the facts and information instead of what seems trendy or self-important. Look at the past history of potential investments, seeing how they’ve performed both recently and over the past year or so.
An investment that has grown slowly over a longer period of time is usually better than one that has spiked in value recently; the chances are that the investment that gained a lot of value suddenly will drop in value just as suddenly.
Multiple Investments vs. Few Investments
Many people worry about whether they should make just a few good investments, or if they should invest smaller amounts into several investments. This largely depends upon what the person is looking for in their investments… someone who’s just wanting to build up some additional money for retirement or some other point down the road might be better served to put a lot of money into a few stocks that have been increasing steadily over time, whereas someone who’s trying to build an investment portfolio and trying to make money in general might do better dividing up their investment money among several different investments.
Determine your investment goals, then choose whether or not to divide up your potential investment into several different investments.
Stocks, Bonds, and Indexes
While there are a lot of different types of investments that you might be able to make, stocks, bonds, and indexes are generally the most common types. Stocks are basically portions of ownership in companies, and their values go up and down depending upon the performance, profits, and public reaction to the company and it’s business ventures.
Bonds are traded in the same manner as stocks, but are generally government-issued and increase or decrease depending upon interest rates and the value that the bonds are based upon.
An index is similar to stock shares, but instead of being a specific company its value is based upon an average of a certain market or industry.
Diversification
One of the major factors that can influence how successful your investments are is diversification. Basically, diversification is the process of investing in several different types of investments, and in several different types of industry. A diverse investment portfolio might contain stocks, bonds, and indexes, and will have money invested in several different sectors and industries instead of just one. This allows your investment portfolio to stay relatively level, regardless of the periodic dips in value that companies and sectors tend to take.
Even though one specific stock or one area of your portfolio might be down in value, chances are another part of your portfolio will be up… this helps you to secure your investments slightly against the fluctuations of the market, and can also open you up to opportunities that you otherwise might have overlooked.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author’s biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

Technorati tags: investments investment might several value

Many people are not aware that Gold peaked at over $850 an ounce in the 1980’s. It has been in a bear (depressed market) for 20 years since but Gold has been marching higher for three and a half years, even in the absence of major inflation. Now, as investors rush to gold as a hedge, you can expect far greater increases. $1,000 an ounce for Gold would not seem unreasonable for the following reasons:
1. Chinese Gold demand overwhelming Shanghai Gold Exchange - the volume of gold trading on the new exchange is exploding so much so that the computer systems and the Gold Exchange Building will have to be replaced within months if they are to keep up with demand - the world market has recently been opened to 1.2 billion people for the first time since the Red Army marched into Beijing in 1949! According to the World Gold Council, in the past year Chinese investors have bought, on average, the equivalent of only 0.16 grams of gold. The worldwide average is 0.70 grams. In Hong Kong however, the average is 2.7 grams of gold per capita over 10 years. If mainland Chinese citizens buy 2.7 grams of gold per capita over 10 years, it will amount to nearly 111 million ounces - the equivalent of 3,850 tons of gold or more than 16 months of the world’s total gold production.
2. Rapid Westernisation is taking place in both China and India - over 3 Billion people want a better lifestyle and more quality products - and they want them now! Their demand for raw materials including gold (and oil) is massive. Since October 2003, China has come from nowhere on the world gold market to become the world’s third largest consumer, just behind India and the USA.
3. Central Bank Sales of gold have virtually dried up due to the recent multi-nation agreement - the Washington Agreement. This sale of gold by Central Banks worldwide was one of the reasons the price of gold was depressed throughout much of the past 2 decades. In fact, Central Banks are now buying gold again.
4. Mining supplies of Gold are severely limited due to the closure of hundreds of mines during gold’s 21 year bear market. The huge demand in natural resources including gold will put even more pressure on gold’s limited supplies.
5. Rising interest rates in the US will not cause a fall in demand for gold. The reason for this is that interest rates will continue to lag behind the rising inflation rate, and inflation will continue to drive down the value of the dollar as foreign currencies go up.
6. The market cap of gold shares at $70 Billion is very small. Right now the total value of all stocks is about $16.9 trillion. In comparison the total supply of gold bullion is $51 billion including both actual gold and futures. If just a fraction of a percent of the money in the world’s stock markets moves into gold shares as a hedge against inflation and/or geopolitical instability, you are looking at current share prices doubling and tripling.
7. The price of gold in the past 12 months has been rising in terms of all major currencies, not just the dollar. When the price of an asset rises in terms of all currencies at the same time, it is clear that this is an “unadulterated bull market”.
8. Investors turn to gold in 3 types of environment:

(1) when inflation occurs - as in the US right now .Inflation in the US is already evident in the latest figures released. Investors will start to invest in wealth preservation strategies like gold instead of stocks and bonds.
(2) in times of economic uncertainty - for example when the price of natural resources like oil is rapidly rising out of control like it is now
(3) in times of geopolitical unrest - Part of gold’s recent strength is attributable to terrorist fears and those fears have only increased. Judging by the latest attacks, terror incidents are likely to increase in size and frequency especially leading up to elections in the US.

9. Gold mining companies have largely given up their forward-selling - a practice that helped keep gold prices low throughout most of the 1990’s. The reason for this is that they expect gold to rise dramatically in the future and do not want to be limited by agreeing to sell at a potentially lower future price.
10. The US budget deficit is estimated to be over $600 billion this year. The decline of the dollar will continue and inflation has returned dramatically. These factors occurring at the same time will drive the price of gold higher as foreign central banks begin to cut back on the percentage of reserves they hold in dollars, and start diversifying more into other currencies and gold.
11. During the latter part of 2003, the Malaysian Royal Mint introduced a new currency, the gold dinar. It is being used as a gold coin in circulation to be used as a currency. It will take time for it to catch on but when it does, it will be another reason for a huge increase in the demand for gold. Eventually the hope is that the dinar will be used as the currency of choice in trade settlement between predominantly Muslim nations instead of the US Dollar.
12. Central Bankers around the world from the US to Russia, Saudi Arabia to Egypt and Malaysia to Japan have been pumping up money supply growth to avoid the negative consequences of bursting bubbles in paper assets such as stocks and bonds. Without any gold standard central bankers have been free to do this. The effect is to have enormous amounts of money pursuing a limited supply of raw materials including gold.
13. The technical chart in the price of gold over the past 5 years shows that the trend is definitely rising and the bull market is 100% intact. Based on current cycles, Gold will peak around 2008-2009.

Technorati tags: gold world demand price billion